Safety electric lamp



Aug. 3, 193?. F. R. MEGINNISS SAFETY ELECTRIC LAMP Filed Feb. 5, 1,954

//v VEN TOR FRAME/5 7? MEGINNIEE ,4 770 RNE Y5 position by a fixed stirrup or ball.

however, in order to remove and renew a bulb I y a; has required the removal of the socket from the rear of the reflector which has required the dis- Patented Aug. 3, 1937 UNITED STATES SAFETY ELECTRIC LAMP Francis R. Meginniss, Albany, N. Y.,,assignor to Inertia Devices Inc., tion of New York Albany, N. Y., a corpora- Application February 5, 1934, Serial No. 109,684

4 Claims.

' The Bureau of Minesrequires that the circuit of a lamp which is to be used in combustible gases should be broken in case the lamp bulb is frac tured and my invention relates to a lamp which 5 complies with these provisions and which is at the same time readily removable and renewable.

It has heretofore been proposedto eject the lamp from its socket in case of the fracture of the. bulb, but to normally retain the lamp in assembly ofa number of parts and the expendi- .lfi ture of a, considerable amount of time for such renewal.

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of a hinged ball which normally retains the I lamp in position lnlits socket and which may" 0 readily be moved away from the lamp to permit removal and renewal thereof. I

Anotherobject of my invention is the provision of an axially disposed switch comprising a fixed contact and a movable contact included in the circuit of a lamp which is ejected from its socket in the manner above described and which more quickly opens the circuit of the lamp than does a I switch member comprising two movable contacts which have hitherto been used.

: Other novel features of my invention will appear in the specification and will be more particua larly pointed out in the claims.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawing in which I Y have illustrated a preferred embodiment thereof l 5 illustrating the lamp secured in posltiomtherein by the hinged bail;

Fig. 5 is a side viewof the socket taken at right angles to Fig. 4 and on a reduced scale; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view, partially in section, illustrating a modification.

, Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the drawing.

Referring to the drawing, III indicates general ly a casing for a flash lamp and is here shown as l comprising two-sections oneof'which m is gen- Such device,

erally cylindrical in form and the other I02 of which is flared outwardly at its forward end and is provided with screw threads engaging the threaded forward end of the section IIII. The cylindrical section ifll is provided with outward-- ly extending annular beads or ribs H, the inner end of the section I02 preferably beingturned outwardly as best shown in Fig. 1, a suitable gasket i2 being interposed between the inner end of the section I 02 and the head I I at the forward end of the casing. It will, of course,be under.- stood that the casing may be formed of a single metallic member flared outwardly at its forward end. 1

The front end of the casing is closed at its forward end by a transparent member I3, which may be in the form of a lens or plain glass. The lens is retained in position by a threaded rim I4v which engages threads on the forward end of the section I02 and which engages the beveled edge of thelens 13, a suitable gasket I5 being interposed between the lens and the forward end of the section I02 of the casing to form a sealed joint and a sealed insulation at theforward end thereof; 'Iheinner end of the casing is preferably closed by a threaded cap IS, a suitable gasket I! being interposed between the forwardly and outwardly turning end of the cap l6 and the annular rib I I. I

A battery in the form of one or more dry cells l8 is located within the casing and is adjustable longitudinally thereof by a focusing ring I 9 which may conveniently be threaded in the threaded end of the section I ill of the-casing and is preferably provided with finger lugs 20. 'The battery may be grounded by a spring 2| provided the tocusing ring I9 is cinch-conducting material.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated, the terminal 22 of the dry cell is engaged by the j casing of an inertia operated switch unit 23 which may be of the same character as that illustrated in my application Ser. No. 655,586 which was flied in the Patent Office on or about February '7, 1933 and the details of which havenot been illustrated in the present case. The switch is operated by a mass located within the casing of the switch unit, the switch being successively opened and closed by imparting movement to the flash lamp and the switch unit located therein and abruptly stopping such movement.

The forward end of the switch unit 23 is proteriorly threaded as indicated generally at 25. A flxed contact terminal 26 forming the terminal of the switch unit 23 is arranged axially of the switch unit end of the lamp and extends upwardly within the sleeve 24. A lamp socket 21 threaded at its inner end as at 28 is received in the sleeve 24 of the switch unit. An incandescent lamp 2! is slidably received within the socket 21 and comprises a bulb and the usual base 2!. The base of the lamp is illustrated as threaded only because lamps of this character are usually provided with a threaded It will be understood, however, that a plain cylindrical base would serve the purposes of my invention. The inner end of the socket 21 is prefer bl Provided with an inwardly extending flange 22 against which is, seated a coil spring I3 which is engaged and compressed by the base of the lamp when the latter is inserted in operative position in the socket as illustrated in Pig. 4. The lamp is retained in position by a ball which is hinged as at "to aflange-IQ which is preferably provided on the forward end of the socket 21. The ball.

34 is preferably bent at an intermediate portion thereof to form a generally cup-shaped section II which engages the forward end of the lamp and retains the same in the socket against the action of the spring 22 which is thus biased to eject the lamp from the socket. At the same time the ball is movable out of the path of th axial movement of the bulb.

By providing threads on the socket 21 which engage cooperating threads on the supporting means or sleeve 24, the socket may be adjusted along the axis thereof and by rotating the socket, the position of the bail may be adjusted relatively to the contact 20. The foregoing feature is important inasmuch as the overall length of commercial lamps which are suitable for applieant's use vary, and in the absence of any adiustment, the bail might engage with suflicient force to cause fracture thereof. On the other hand, it wold engage an undersized lamp with insuflicient force and would cause a loose fit between the two.

' Inthe embodiment of my invention illustrated, a reflector ll is seated at its forward end against the gasket Ii, the inner end of the reflector being provided with an aperture 3. through which the lamp socket 21 passes. The inner end of the reflector I4 is preferably received in a dished member .44 which is provided with an annular flange 4| which is received in a flange 42 on the forward end of the switch unit 22. A coil spring 48 is seated. against the forward end of the switch unit 23 between the flange 42 and the sleeve 24', the forward end of the spring engaging the dished member 44.

In case the bulb ll of the incandescent lamp is fractured, the base of the lamp is unsupp rted and is ejected from the socket by the coil spring a thereby breaking the circuit between the flxed contact 26 and the usual axial contact formed on the base of the lamp. Inasmuch as one of the contacts is flxed,- the circuitis opened the instant that the base moves forwardly, and is opened more quickly than'is the case where the opening of the circuit is dependent upon the movement of two contact members such as hitherto used. Torenewthelsmpitisonlynecessaryto move-the hingedbail I4-to one side of the axis as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 5, insert a new lamp in position within the socket and return the bail to a position in front of the lamp as illustrated in Figs. 2, 8 and 4.

InFlg. 6, I have illustrated a modified form of socket and bail for the incandescent lamp. The ball 44, which is hinged to the socket 21 in any suitable manner, comprises the portions 44! which extend substantially parallel with the axis of the socket. It will be noted that in the embodiment here illustrated the opening 45 in the reflector 48 is of suflicient diameter to permit the socket and the bail of the form above described to pass therethrough. For convenience, the member 44 may be detachably secured to the reflector 46 to form a unit or, obviously, it may constitute a separate element to be fastened to the case as hereinbefore described. Furthermore, the switch unit 2" preferably has a diameter of the order of that of the dry cells II in order to facilitate the assemblage of the various elements constituting my flash light. An advantage of this form of socket and hail resides in the fact that the lamp and socket may be removed from either end of the reflector.

While I have described the unit 22 as a switch unit having a terminal at 28, it will, of course, be understood that it may be replaced by a dry cell similar to the cell is the terminal of which 'will replace the terminal 20 and the casing of changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made without departing from the true scope and spirit of my invention in its broader aspects.

What I claim is: l. A portable electric light comprising a switch unit provided at one end with a forwardly extending sleeve, a socket engageable with said sleeve and formed with a support for a yielding means, an incandescent lamp provided with a contact member and the base of which is receivable and slidable within said socket, yielding means interposed between said support and the base of said lamp, a flxed contact with which the contact member of said lamp engages, and hinged means alfngfliiiflglle with the bulb of said lamp for norm y re ng said lam in o rati tion within said socket. D De ve D081 2. A portable electric light comprising a switch unit one end of which is provided with a forwardly extending sleeve and with a flxed contact member extending forwardly within said sleeve, a socket engageable with said sleeve and formed with a support for a yielding means. an incandescent lamp the base of which is receivable and slidable within said socket, yielding means interposed between said support and the base of said lamp, the baseof said lamp being provided with a contact engageable-with said flxed contact, and hinged means engageabie with the bulb of said lamp for normally retaining said lamp in operative position within said socket.

3. A portable electric light comprising a switch unit provided with a casing one end of which is provided with a forwardly extending sleeve and with a contact member extending forwardly within said sleeve, a socket engaseable with said sleeve and formed with a support for a yielding means,

an incandescent lamp the base of which is receivable and slidable within said socket, yielding means interposed between said support and the base of said lamp, the base of said lamp being providedwith a contact engageable withsaid fixed contact, and a ball hinged to said socket and engageable with the bulb of said lamp for normally retaining said lamp in operative position within said socket.

' 4. A portable electric light comprising a switch unitof the inertia operated type and one end of which is provided with a forwardly extending sleeve and with a fixed contact member extendin: forwardly within said sleeve, a socket engageable with said sleeve and formed with a support for a yielding means, an incandescent lamp the base or which is receivable and slidable within said socket, yielding means interposed between said support and the base of said lamp, the base of said lamp being provided with a contact'en 1 gageable with said fixed contact, and hinged means engageable with the bulb of said lamp for normally retaining said lamp in operative position 10 within said socket.

FRANCIS R. MEGINNISS. 

